Run
by Duskspiral
Summary: Just RUN.


_Bark! Bork! Bark!_

The she-cat leaped onto the fence above the twoleg's garden. A brown medium furred dog and a shaggy white dog were standing below her. The shaggy white dog rammed it's paws into the fence, almost throwing her off. She gripped on with her claws.

The white dog hit the fence again, and the brown dog yipped in excitement. She almost thought she'd fall, then…

A twoleg burst out of the den, snapping and yapping at the dogs. The brown dog's ears drooped and the white dog let out a whine. They walked over to the twoleg and vanished inside the den.

The twoleg looked up at her, then realized what she held in her mouth, and started to yell.

The she-cat darted away along the fence, knowing the twoleg regretted ever putting the dogs back inside. She leaped over into the next garden and gracefully landed in the grass, keeping a firm hold of the object in her mouth. She made her way into the next garden, and the next, squeezing through tunnels she had dug underground.

Then, she burst into light and sound. A loud roar of a grass cutting monster pierced her ear fur. She ducked down in the grass, hoping it wouldn't see her, but it did. It was coming right for her!

She backed up into the tunnel, flattening her ears, hoping it would pass over her. She waited for a moment until the roared faded, then darted into the sunlight. Panting, she instantly jumped up onto a nearby fence to avoid the claws of the grass cutter, and ran along it.

Somewhere along the lines the she paused to take a break. She set the object down and sat there for a moment, breathing heavily.

Suddenly, a twoleg emerged from another den, holding something bright red in its hand and shouting. She didn't know what it was saying, of course, but she knew it was hostile. She opened her eyes quickly and grabbed the object, but she wasn't quick enough.

_Splat!_

The impact of the round, bright red twoleg thing sent her tumbling down onto the other side of the high fence and into the grass below. She hit the ground with a yowl of pain. Her breath rushed out of her, and for one scary moment, she thought she wasn't going to breathe again.

Soon enough, the air rushed back into her lungs painfully fast. She took another gulp of air, then got up and looked at herself.

The right side of her pelt was stained red. She gasped. It looked like blood… but it wasn't. The remains of the thing the twoleg had thrown at her coloured her fur. It was also evident that it wasn't blood because there were tiny yellow seeds there. It was almost as if the twoleg had wanted to turn her into a plant!

The she-cat was back on the fence in a flash. Her heart beat quickly in her chest as she clutched the object close to her as if it were her own kit. She needed to be strong enough to do this.

She jumped off the fence and made her way between two twoleg houses, only stopping briefly when the object dropped limply from her jaws. She grasped it firmly, but delicately so she wouldn't break it.

The she-cat was in front of the twoleg dens now, where the monsters lay dormant. She knew they couldn't magically spring to life, but she still kept wary of them. Then she came to her last major obstacle.

The Thunderpath lay in front of her, long and made of a hard, black stone. A monster rushed by and it's fumes swept towards her, making her cough and gag. This was it.

She listened intently, her ears pricked. Her paws itched with the impatience to run again. Her heart pounded harder now. She darted onto the Thunderpath.

_Rumble!_

She froze and looked over to see a monster coming right towards her. Letting out a screech, she ran. Then… a storm.

She was thrown onto the side of the Thunderpath. Pain shot through her body like lightning.

_Starclan help me!_

-Line Break-

The she-cat opened her eyes. She was lying beside the Thunderpath.

_I'm alive…_

She looked over at her leg, bent at an awkward angle. She'd broken it, but she needed to keep going. Back home.

With a grunt, she got to her paws, but as soon as she placed her tender leg on the ground, pain rose up her spine and she staggered, lifting it up the ground.

She'd have to limp from now on. She grabbed the object then kept walking, careful to not put pressure on her injured leg. But even still...

Every.

Step.

Hurt.

Like.

Fire.

_Keep going. _

So she did, trembling with effort, grunting with pain. She felt her head start to spin, falling down in a spiral she couldn't control.

The she-cat looked down. She hadn't even realized that her legs were folded underneath her, except for the broken one. She couldn't keep walking like this. She was too tired.

A heaviness made her shut her eyes, but she kept her jaws clenched on the object in her mouth. She wasn't going to let it go, after all the trouble she went through to get it. She roasted her head on the ground and let the darkness take her.

-Line Break-

She opened her eyes wearily. A weak morning light filtered into the den.

"Great Starclan, you're awake!"

She looked up. A dusty brown tabby tom stood there. He had beautifully thick fur and a long tail. His chest fur was white, along with his paws. His handsome eyes were wide, soft green moons as he stared down at her. Duststream.

"Wait…" she murmured groggily. "Wait… I'm back home?"

Duststream purred, sitting down beside her. His eyes lit up.

"We found you on the edge of Daisyclan territory, unconscious and with a broken leg. Also, does this look familiar?"

He spun around, reaching down to grab something in his jaws. He turned back to the she-cat and showed her.

The flower was slightly bent, it's petals wild and messy.

She gasped. Her heart gave an excited thump.

"That's it!" she shouted, moving forward to take the rose from him. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot up her spine blindingly, and she cried out and fell back into her nest of moss and feathers. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep herself awake.

"Are you okay?" She felt his tongue rasp against her head as she bit down on her lip.

She took a deep breath, shuddered then nodded. She waited for a moment, and finally opened her eyes slightly and asked, "Where'd you get that?"

Duststream pulled away from her, looking down at the rose lying between them. "You were holding it in your mouth. We had to pull it away from you. Who… who were you going to give it to?" His voice sounded casual, but she could hear something else. Was it hurt?

She felt slightly embarrassed. "It's for you. Though, as you can tell, the presentation was clearly messed up." She nodded to the battered flower again. "We both took a beating."

Duststream looked more embarrassed than she felt.

"Why would you do that for me?" he asked.

She moved away from him a bit.

"Because I… I kind of love you. Do you love me too?" She looked up at him, hoping with all her heart he'd say yes.

Duststream took a pawstep back. She felt her heart melt in her chest.

"You don't?" she asked quietly, looking down at her paws. "Oh… well, that's okay."

They both were silent for a moment, then Duststream mewed, "I-I'm just shocked, that's all."

"But you don't love me?" she asked.

Duststream sat there for a moment, then purred.

"Why _wouldn't_ I? Yes, you were kind of featherbrained to risk yourself for _me_, but you're brave. You're kind." He reached down and gave her cheek a lick. "There's no cat in the world who wouldn't love you."

She blinked in surprise, then gave him a lick back.

"Um… do you still want the rose?"

They both looked down at it.

"What's that red stain on the side of it?" Duststream asked. The flower was still red from when the twoleg chucked that red fruit at her up on the fence.

She purred.

"Well, it's a long story. Want to hear it?"

**HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!**


End file.
